Leafs win 8-2
Some ballplayers get wary when a team mired in a long losing streak comes up next on the schedule.
It looks like easy pickings ahead, but every losing streak eventually comes an end. No one wants to be the one to lose to a slumping team. Reputations take a hit. Egos get bruised. The other kids point and laugh. No, no one wants to lose to a slumping team.
So it was with that same sense of wariness that I descended into Christie Pits this afternoon to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs host the 0-and-7, winless-to-start-the-season Hamilton Cardinals. Clustered around their dugout, the Leafs were all easy smiles and relaxed charm. No signs of concern. Maybe I was the only anxious one.
As soon as the game got underway, Hamilton scored first out of the gate (ahem). They held the lead until the bottom of the fourth, when Dan Marra drove in a pair of runs for a 2-1 Leafs lead.
The Cardinals are a young team -- so very young -- but the tenacity of youth kept the score the same until the bottom of the 6th. Then: Crash! Bang! Wham! The Leafs put four more runs on the board.
The Leafs led 6-2 in the bottom of the 8th, when Johnathan Solazzo (above) added a KA-POW! to the proceedings with a 2-run home run that landed somewhere in Etobicoke. Mary's not getting that one back.
I began to relax.
Everything worked out fine in the end. The Leafs put in a total team effort for a solid win. After pitching six strong innings and surrendering just one earned run, starter David Ertl made way for Adam Marra, Adam Garner and Matt Fiorini. They each pitched an inning to close out the game and seal an 8-2 victory for the Leafs.
Game Recap:
The Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Hamilton Cardinals on another hot and sticky Sunday afternoon at Christie Pits. Starter David Ertl made his first appearance of 2016 for the V-necks, versus Rhys Tapper for the Redbirds.
Hamilton got on the board in the top of the 1st inning. Second baseman Marcus Dicenzo singled off Ertl and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Catcher Tyler Hardie singled to centerfield and Dicenzo went for home, scoring on an errant throw from Grant Tamane. 1-0 Cards after one.
Tapper and Ertl traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the 4th. Leafs third baseman Johnathan Solazzo led off with a double. Catcher Will Richards reached first on a walk. Rightfielder Troy Daring reached first on a fielder's choice that eliminated Richards and moved Solazzo to third. A single by second baseman Dan Marra scored both Solazzo and Daring and put the Leafs in front 2-1 through four innings of play.
David Cromer relieved Tapper in the bottom of the 5th. The Leafs touched him for four runs in the bottom of the 6th. Daring led off with a triple, sliding into third ahead of the tag. Daring held third on a single by leftfielder Julio Guzman. A sac fly by shortstop Ryan White brought Daring home. Tamane followed with a single. First baseman Jon Waltenbury then doubled to drive in Guzman. Solazzo was up next, and he hit a two-RBI single that brought Tamane and Waltenbury home. 6-1 Leafs after six.
Hamilton got one back in the top of the 7th. Adam Marra relieved Ertl, and he gave up a double to centerfielder Jake Folden. Leftfielder Lake Molleson followed with a single that scored Folden. Marra then got out of the inning with the help of the pitcher's best friend, a double play. 6-2 Leafs midway through seven.
Chris Beer pitched a scoreless bottom of the 7th.
Adam Garner pitched a scoreless top of the 8th.
Tamane walked to lead off the bottom of the 8th. Waltenbury struck out, then Solazzo returned to the plate and blasted a two-run homer to make it 8-2 Leafs. The home run left Solazzo a triple short of the cycle and put an exclamation point on the day for the home side.
Matt Fiorini came in to pitch the 9th for Toronto. He prevented any further damage, locked down the win for Erdl and an 8-2 FINAL for the Leafs.
Hamilton 2-7-1
Toronto 8-12-3
W - Ertl (1-0, 1.50)
L - Tapper (0-3, 6.42)
BOXSCORE
The Maple Leafs finish the month of May with a 5-2 record. They are tied for second place in the IBL standings.
Their next game is this Wednesday night at Christie Pits, against the 7-and-0, undefeated-to-start-the-season Kitchener Panthers. Time to get anxious?
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